Regular
season

Opening
weekend

On March 26, 2007, the league announced the aforementioned
opening Saints-Colts Kickoff Game on September 6 that would be
telecast on NBC. Pre-game activities
featured Indiana native John Mellencamp, Faith Hill, and Kelly Clarkson. The entertainment
portion of events started 30 minutes earlier than the scheduled
start time of the game, leading up to the unveiling of the Colts'
Super Bowl XLI
championship banner. The opening events were simulcast on NFL Network.

Going
global

In October 2006, NFL club owners approved a plan to stage up to
two international regular season games per season beginning in 2007
and continuing through at least 2011.[2]
On February 2, 2007, the league announced that the Week Eight
contest between the New York Giants and the Miami Dolphins
would be played at Wembley Stadium in London on October 28
at 5 p.m. UTC,
which is 1 p.m. EDT)[3][4] As the
Giants were the away-team designate from the NFC, Fox broadcast the
game in the USA according to league broadcast contract rules.[5]

Flex
scheduling

The NFL entered its second year of flexible scheduling in the
final weeks of the season. In each of the Sunday night contests
from Weeks 11 through 17, NBC had the option of switching its
Sunday night game for a more favorable contest, up to 12 days
before the game's start.[7] In
addition to an extra week of flexible scheduling (because of the
conflict with scheduling Christmas Eve the previous season, which
NBC did not do (instead opting to air a game on Christmas Day)),
the NFL slightly changed its flex-schedule procedure. In 2006, the
league did not reveal its predetermined Sunday night game; the
reason given by the league was to avoid embarrassing the teams
switched out for a more compelling game.[8]
In 2007, the league announced all predetermined matchups, with a
footnote on the games subject to flex scheduling.[9]
Also, the network that carries the "doubleheader" week game (either
CBS or Fox) will be able to switch one game per week into the 4:15
PM (US ET) time slot, except in the final week, when NBC will
select one game for the 8:15 PM slot, and both CBS and Fox will
have doubleheader games on December 30. The first flex game was the
New England Patriots visiting the Buffalo Bills on November 18. The next
flexing came when it was announced that the December 23 Washington
Redskins–Minnesota Vikings game was moved to
8:15 PM on NBC, replacing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers–San Francisco
49ers contest, which was moved to 4:05 PM to be aired on Fox. It
was announced on December 23 the Tennessee Titans–Indianapolis Colts
game, originally scheduled for a 1 PM kickoff on CBS, would be the
December 30 "flex game" and airing at 8:15 PM on NBC, replacing the
Kansas
City Chiefs–New
York Jets game, which was moved to 4:15 PM on CBS, along with
the Pittsburgh Steelers–Baltimore
Ravens contest. Additionally, the Dallas Cowboys–Washington
Redskins game was switched on Fox from 1 PM kickoff to 4:15 PM.

Rule
changes

The following rule changes were passed at the league's annual
owners meeting in Phoenix, Arizona during the week of
March 25-28:

The instant
replay system, used since the 1999 season, was finally made a
permanent officiating tool.[10]
Previously, it was renewed on a biennial basis.

The system has also been upgraded to use high-definition technology.
However, the systems at Texas Stadium (Dallas Cowboys), RCA Dome
(Indianapolis Colts), and Giants Stadium (New York Giants and
Jets) will not receive the HDTV updates since those stadiums will
be replaced over the next few years.[11] One
reason that the technology was improved was that fans with
high-definition televisions at home were having better views on
replays than the officials and according to Dean Blandino, the
NFL's instant replay director "that could have bit us in the rear
if we continued [with the old system]." In addition, the amount of
time allotted for the referee to review a play was reduced from 90
seconds to one minute.[12]

After a play is over, players who spike the ball in the field
of play, other than in the end
zone, will receive a 5-yard delay of game penalty.[12]

Forward passes that unintentionally hit an offensive lineman
before an eligible receiver will no longer be an illegal touching
penalty, but deliberate actions are still penalized.[12]

Roughing-the-passer penalties will not be called on a defender
engaged with a quarterback who simply extends his arms and shoves
the passer to the ground.[12]

During situations where crowd noise becomes a problem (when it
becomes too loud that it prevents the offensive team from hearing
its signals), the offense can no longer ask the referee to reset
the play clock.[12]

It is necessary to have the ball touch the pylon or break the
plane above the pylon to count as a touchdown. Previously, a player
just had to have some portion of his body over the goal line or
pylon to count a touchdown[13]

A completed catch is now when a receiver gets two feet down and
has control of the ball. Previously, a receiver had to make "a
football move" in addition to having control of the ball for a
reception.[14]

Players will be subject to a fine from the league for playing
with an unbuckled chin strap. Officials will not penalize for chin
strap violations during a game.[14]

In the second year of the NFL Network's "Run to the Playoffs", Marshall Faulk
and Deion
Sanders replaced Dick Vermeil for two games when
Collinsworth was unavailable. An unforced change saw Bryant Gumbel miss
the Broncos–Texans game December 13 due to a sore throat and NBC
announcer Tom
Hammond step into Gumbel's play-by-play role in what turned out
to be more or less a preview of one of NBC's Wild Card Game
announcing teams.

Controversy
surrounding NFL Network coverage

The dispute between the NFL Network and various cable companies
involving the distribution of the cable channel continued
throughout the season, getting the attention of government
officials when the NFL Network was scheduled to televise two
high-profile regular season games: the Packers-Cowboys game on
November 29 and the Patriots-Giants game on December 29. In the
case of the Packers-Cowboys game, the carriage was so limited that
even Governor of WisconsinJim Doyle went to his
brother's house to watch the game on satellite (which is where the
majority of the viewers watch the network). The contest drew a
network record 10.1 million viewers, a high-water mark at that
time.

Some politicians urged the league to seek a resolution to
conflict. In December, MassachusettsSenatorJohn Kerry wrote a letter to NFL
Commissioner Roger
Goodell asking for the league to settle their differences in
time for the Patriots-Giants game. Because the game, as it turned
out, would be the Patriots' attempt to seal the record that would
make them the first undefeated team in 35 years, Kerry urged for a
solution to be decided upon in time so that Americans can witness
"an historic event."[15] Also,
Pennsylvania
Senator Arlen
Specter threatened to introduce legislation to eliminate the
league's freedom from antitrust laws.[16]

On December 26, the NFL announced that, despite initial plans to
broadcast the game only on the NFL Network, the game would be
presented in a three-network simulcast with both CBS and NBC, the
first time an NFL game would be broadcast on three networks, and
the first simulcast of any pro football game since Super Bowl I.[17]
Nielsen ratings saw CBS with 15.7 million viewers, NBC with 13.2
million viewers and NFL Network with 4.5 million viewers for the
game. In addition, local stations in New York City (WWOR-TV in nearby Secaucus,
New Jersey), Boston (WCVB-TV), and Manchester, New Hampshire (WMUR-TV), all previously signed
on to carry the game in the teams' home markets, added 1.2 million
viewers, making it the most watched TV show since the 2007
Oscars and the most watched regular season NFL telecast in
twelve years.

Coaching
changes

The following teams hired new head coaches prior to the start of
the 2007 season:

Hired in 2004. However, the Cardinals suffered
three consecutive losing seasons under him, including a loss to the
Chicago Bears
after blowing a 20-point lead that prompted Green to throw an
infamous tirade during the post-game media conference saying, "They
are who we thought they were, and we let em' off the hook!"

Events

Player conduct off the
field

The NFLPA, led
by their president Gene
Upshaw and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell are going to be
working with player conduct in the form of suspensions for off the
field conduct in light of the more than fifty arrests by local law
enforcement since the start of the 2006 season. The hardest hit so far
came on April 10 when Adam "Pacman" Jones of the Tennessee
Titans was suspended for the entire season for his five
arrests, the most blatant while in Las Vegas for the NBA
All-Star Weekend in February where he was accused of causing a
riot/shooting in a strip club. That same day, Chris Henry of the Cincinnati
Bengals was suspended for the first eight games of the season
for his run-ins with the legal system. The other big name that has
been caught in the web of controversy was Falcons' quarterback Michael Vick. Vick
was charged on July 24 with dogfighting and
animal abuse, and has been suspended indefinitely following a
guilty plea in the case, on which he was sentenced to 23 months in
prison (retroactive to November) and three years probation on
December 10.[31]

Death of
Sean Taylor

Fourth-year player Sean Taylor, a defensive back for the Redskins, was
shot in his home near Miami, Florida on
November 26. Armed with a machete, Taylor confronted robbers — Eric
Rivera, the 17-year-old gunman, 18-year-old Charles Wadlow, and
20-year-olds Jason Mitchell and Venjah Hunte — who were breaking
into his home. Rivera fired two shots from his 9 mm gun, one
missing and the other hitting Taylor's leg, going from his right
groin to his left according to an autopsy obtained by Associated
Press. He died from his injuries the next day.[35] For
the remainder of the season, the Redskins honored him with a black
patch on their right shoulder of the player uniform jerseys, while
all 32 teams honored Taylor by applying a decal with his playing
number (21) on the left back side of their helmets. Taylor's memory
was honored in all games during Week 13 and all three Redskins
representatives in the Pro Bowl wore number 21 in his honor. All
four men involved are being held without bail pending a trial.

Spygate

During the Patriots season opening game at The Meadowlands
against the Jets, a Patriots camera staffer was ejected from the
Patriots sideline and was accused of videotaping the Jets'
defensive coaches relaying signals. The end result was that the
team was fined $250,000, head coach Bill Belicheck was
docked $500,000 (the maximum fine that could be imposed) and also
stripped of their first round selection of the 2008 NFL Draft.
If the Pats had failed to make the playoffs, the penalty would have
been their second and third round picks. The team was allowed to
keep their other first-round pick acquired from the San
Francisco 49ers during the previous year's selection
meeting.

Other
events

This was the final season the classic NFL Shield logo, which
had not changed since 1980, was used. An updated version first seen
on August 31 in USA
Today was put into use starting with the 2008 NFL Draft in
April..[36]
The new logo design features eight stars (one for each division)
instead of the current 25 stars, the football now resembles that on
the top of the Vince Lombardi Trophy, given to
the Super Bowl
champion and the lettering and point has been updated and modified
to that of the league's current typeface for other logos.

The 2007 season was the last in the RCA Dome for the
Indianapolis Colts, who had played there since 1984. The
franchise will move to the new Lucas Oil Stadium in time for the
2008 season, located literally across the street. The dome will be
demolished, and an extension to the Indiana Convention Center
will replace the stadium.

The Redskins celebrated their 75th anniversary (actually their
76th season) season as the franchise was founded in 1932 as the
Boston Braves, and wore Vince Lombardi-styled uniforms against
the New York Giants on September 23. The Philadelphia Eagles and
their cross-state rival Pittsburgh Steelers also celebrated their
respective 75th seasons, having been founded in 1933. The Eagles
wore replicas of their inaugural season uniforms against the Detroit Lions on
September 23, while the Steelers wore 1960 uniforms against the Buffalo Bills on
September 16 and did so again when the Baltimore Ravens visited on November
5.

Throwback uniforms were not just limited to team anniversary
celebrations. The Cleveland Browns wore their 1957 throwbacks in a
27–17 win against the Houston Texans on November 25, the Minnesota
Vikings wore 1970's uniforms against the Packers on September
30 (in the same game that Brett Favre passed Dan Marino for most touchdown passes in NFL
history), while the Jets honored their historic predecessors on
October 14 against the Eagles and, in a rare instance, wore them in
a road game at Miami December 2 by wearing the New York Titans'
1960 through 1962 uniforms. The team did not become the Jets until
1963. The Cowboys wore their 1960 uniforms on November 29 against
the Packers, and the Bills wore their 1960's throwbacks at home
against Dallas October 7 and against Miami December 9.

San Francisco 49ers coach Mike Nolan and Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio both
wore a suit on the sidelines for all of the team's home games to
honor Nolan's father, former 49ers and Saints coach Dick Nolan. In 2006,
both coaches were allowed to wear a suit on the sidelines for a
maximum of two home games. Del Rio did not wear a suit in the
September 16th game against the Falcons due to the extreme heat in
Jacksonville that day. Nolan wore a suit at the Meadowlands against
the Giants on October 21.

The 49ers also honored the late Bill Walsh, coach of their wins
in Super Bowls
XVI, XIX,
and XXIII
by wearing throwback uniforms from the 1980s in their opener on
September 10 against the Arizona Cardinals. Mike Nolan had been
considering wearing the 1980s uniforms for the entire season to
honor Walsh's memory. The retro uniforms were worn again on
November 18 against the Seahawks. In addition, all season long, the
team wore a black football-shaped decal on their helmets with the
initials "BW" in white.

Teams that have permanent captains are allowed to wear a "C"
patch (similar to those in ice hockey) on their right shoulder. The
patch is in team colors with four stars under the "C." A gold star
is placed on a bar below the "C" signaling how many years (with a
maximum of four years) that player has been captain. The Pittsburgh
Steelers--who were using up two patches as it was for the
season with their own logo (which was already part of the standard
uniforms) and the team's 75th anniversary logo—and Oakland Raiders
elected not to use the "C" patch.

The ESPN Monday Night Football game between the unbeaten New
England Patriots and the Baltimore Ravens on December 3 drew the
highest basic cable rating in history, with over 17.5 million
viewers, beating the premiere of Disney Channel's High
School Musical 2, which set the previous record on August
17. The previous high water mark was a MNF telecast
between the New
York Giants and the Dallas Cowboys on October 23, 2006,
drawing over 16 million viewers.